Man dies after setting himself on fire at Willimantic gas station

After a man died setting himself on fire at a Willimantic gas station on Saturday, police credited the quick action of bystanders and the station attendant for saving others’ lives.

ALISON SHEA

After a man died setting himself on fire at a Willimantic gas station on Saturday, police credited the quick action of bystanders and the station attendant for saving others’ lives.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, police said a few of the seven or eight bystanders at a Chucky’s gas station on West Main Street alerted the gas station clerk that a man had doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire at one of the pumps. The clerk shut off the gas pump to prevent more fuel from being released while bystanders grabbed fire extinguishers from the gas station to put out the flames on the man and gas pump, police said.

Willimantic police Sgt. Robert Rosado credited the bystanders’ and clerk’s quick thinking and action with preventing further injuries. The man on fire was the only one injured in the incident, he said.

“The bystanders put themselves at risk attempting to save the individual’s life, minimized property damage and prevented any further danger to the public,” Rosado said.

Raymond Berry, a 58-year-old retired Norwich police office from Franklin, was driving by the gas station on his way home when he saw the pumps and the man on fire.

Berry helped bystanders who didn’t know how to use the fire extinguishers put out fires on the pump and the man. He said he didn’t know how many extinguishers he used trying to douse the flames, but bystanders ran back and forth into the store several times to bring him another.

After 10 years as a Norwich police officer,“you think you’ve seen it all, but then you see something like that,” he said, describing the man as on all fours and fully engulfed in flames next to a blazing gas pump.

“With something like that, you just kick it into high gear and forget everything. You just try to do something,” he said. “I didn’t think about anything, and I’m not looking for any recognition. I just saw him on the ground and said, ‘I’ve got to do something for this person.’ ”

Firefighters and paramedics took the man to Windham Hospital, where he died. His name has not been released pending identification and notification of his family. An initial investigation shows the man’s injuries were self-inflicted. The state medical examiner’s office will examine the man’s body to confirm the cause of death, police said.

That the man died was very disappointing, Berry said. While he, too, did not know the man’s name, he said he’s keeping the man’s family in his prayers.

“It’s just sad. I guess that’s what bothers me most, that he passed away and I wasn’t able to save him,” Berry said. “I don’t know what was going through his head, but thank goodness the station didn’t go up. There were other people around there.”

The incident remains under investigation by Willimantic police and the city fire marshal.

The gas station reopened Sunday morning, Rosado said. While the burned pump is still standing, it has been taped off and is shut down. Rosado said he expects it to be removed shortly as part of the investigation.